


Children of War

by GalahadWilder



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, Quantic Universe - Fandom
Genre: Angst, F/M, Mental Illness, This gets really dark you guys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2018-12-19 21:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11906253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalahadWilder/pseuds/GalahadWilder
Summary: Something dark is coming to Paris, and Master Fu has been lying to Adrien and Marinette. What happened to the previous Team Miraculous? And how did Marinette's aunt Bridgette really end up in a mental hospital?





	1. Something Wicked This Way Comes

It was a beautiful day in Paris, Adrien thought. The sun was shining, flowers were blooming, and children played in the park. He was so happy to be here, sitting on a picnic blanket with his best friends while they squabbled playfully about silly things, feeding each other sandwiches and tickling each other while talking to him about everything and nothing. There was really only one thing missing that would make this day perfect, but he wouldn't really complain. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask, right?

"Have you guys seen Marinette today?" he said. "Is she sick or something?"

Alya waved her hand. "Nah, she told me last week she was going to be taking today off. Wasn't really sure why, though. But I know she's okay."

"Wait," Nino said, crinkling his nose. "What's the date?"

Adrien checked the screen on his phone. "April 12," he said. "Why?"

Nino pursed his lips. "She's probably visiting her aunt, then," he said. "It's her birthday."

"Oh, really?" Alya said, brightening. "We should join her after class, throw a party!"

Nino shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said.

"Why not?" Adrien asked. "Is her aunt very shy?"

"No." Nino pinched he bridge of his nose with a sigh. "She's... her current residence is the Centre D'accueil Et De Crise."

"Is that place hard to get into or something?" Adrien asked.

Alya gaped at Nino. "That's... that's a mental hospital."

Adrien blinked. "Oh."

Nino nodded. "She doesn't like to talk about it much," he said. "Her aunt suffered some kind of psychotic break a few years back. I visited with Mari once, she was... well, she's delusional, and she can't recognize anyone or even take care of herself."

Alya covered her mouth with her hand. "That's so awful."

"Yeah." Nino nodded. "Marinette takes her aunt's birthday off from school every year to visit her in the hospital. But... she doesn't usually tell people why."

Adrien tensed his fingers. When he was alone, he had a tendency to snap whenever he was uncomfortable, but he'd gotten the impression that this was not necessarily the most appropriate behavior in public. Instead, he cleared his threat. "Do you think..." he started, then looked down at the ground. "Do you think we should do something for Marinette?" He swallowed. "Visiting her aunt is probably not easy on her. We should... we should help, if we can."

Alya beamed. "That's a great idea, Agreste!" she said. "We should plan something for after school."

***

The first sign that something was wrong was when she couldn't find the Akumatized object.

Ladybug had already had a stressful day. Her aunt Bridgette had been especially bad today--she hadn't even recognized Marinette's mom, her own sister, and had insisted that the shadows were following her. She'd kept wandering around, asking for her cat--which she'd never had; Sabine said they'd never had any pets. Marinette and her parents had spent the whole day trying to keep her away from the windows, and she was overall just tired.

And then the massive black dog had shown up, and just... she didn't have the energy for an Akuma right now.

Thankfully, Chat Noir had been high-energy enough to pick up the slack. He bounced around as if he'd been restless all day, spewing puns and one-liners almost as fast as he swung his baton, giving her much-needed space to hang back and strategize. Which was proving to be a bit of a problem.

The dog didn't seem to have any distinguishing ANYTHING. Most Akuma, even the animal ones, had something on them that could be identified as the object where the Akuma was hidden. This one had nothing. No clothes, no tags, just black fur all the way through.

The giant dog charged at her, and she leaped out of the way as Chat slammed his baton into its face, diverting its path so that it crashed face-first into a wall with a shriek. She unlatched her yo-yo from her hip, wrapping it around the dog's legs with a single throw and leaping onto a nearby wall. She looped the string over a sign, then jumped back to the ground, hoisting the dog into the air by its legs.

The dog wriggled in midair, howling helplessly, and she and Chat met each other's confused stares. What were they supposed to do now?

Ladybug shrugged and separated her yo-yo in two, then threw the second one in the air. "Lucky Charm!" she called.

What dropped into her hand was a piece of paper with a note written in it in red-and-black ink. _Chat has to destroy it._

"What?" she said. "This is... this is weird."

"What is, My Lady?" Chat asked, still staring up at the Akuma.

Wordlessly, she offered him the note. He took it and read it, and she could see the confusion across his face. "What?" he said, echoing her own sentiments from before. "Does it... want me to use my Cataclysm?"

"I don't know," Ladybug said, staring at the note. "It's never done this before."

"...Do you think I should?" Chat asked.

Suddenly, the weight disappeared from Ladybug's arm. She looked up to see her yo-yo uncoiling; the massive dog had vanished, leaving behind only a puff of smoke. She snatched the yo-yo out of the air before it could land on her head. "I think the point just became moot," she said.

That was the second sign that something was wrong.


	2. Either Die a Hero

Only a scant few miles away, a man sat in a clean, unfurnished apartment with dark green walls. There were very few things in the apartment other than the man: a table, two chairs, a cot, and a kitchen. Still, it was large, well-kept--the sort of apartment for a wealthy man. But one who was suffering.

On the table was a small cake covered with red icing. The candles were black; the dull orange flame they produced was the only source of light in the vast, empty space.

The man leaned forward. "Happy Birthday, My Lady," he whispered, then, with a puff, the candles went out.

There was a moment of silence in the absolute darkness before a deep, quiet voice broke the stillness. "You called to me," it said.

"I've called to you every year since you were sealed away," the man responded. "You should not be here."

The voice chuckled. "Duusu remembers her own," it said. "What do you ask of me?"

"Retribution," the man replied. "Fu did this to her. I want him to hurt as I have."

"Hmm..." the voice responded. "A noble goal indeed, and one after my own heart. But what if I could get you something... better?"

The man was quiet, seeming to consider this for a moment. "Better how?"

The voice chuckled again. "Fu's time is done," it said. "But you and I both know that there is a new Ladybug." A wide, animalistic grin split the darkness. "What if I could help you get them back?"

***

 "This is bad, this is bad, this is very very bad," Tikki said, zipping around Marinette's room in what appeared to be panic. But that was crazy, right? Tikki never panicked, about anything.

"What's wrong, Tikki?" Marinette said. "I mean, it got away, but it's not any worse than Stoneheart. We'll just have to find it again."

Tikki didn't respond. "This is bad, this is bad," she kept repeating, spiraling around the edges of the room and skirting the walls, the red of her tiny form lost against the pink.

"It's just another Akuma," Marinette said.

Tikki froze. "The Grim is not just another Akuma," she whispered.

"...Oh," Marinette said. "Then... what is it?"

"It shouldn't... it shouldn't..." Tikki gasped, hyperventilating in a way that Marinette had only ever seen _herself_ do, and then only in relation to Adrien. "It's too early."

"Hey," Marinette said softly, lifting the Kwami up on her finger. "We can beat this thing, right?"

Blue eyes met blue eyes, one pair searching for hope, the other with none to give. "Of course we can," Tikki said. "It's what comes _after_ that I'm worried about."

***

Charles Lahiffe sat on the roof of his house, staring at the stars with a glass of wine in his hand. He could feel the thumping bass of his son's DJ equipment through the floor. It was a late night, and there was a disturbingly familiar chill in the air.

He was ashamed to admit that he'd almost forgotten Bridgette's birthday. He didn't like thinking about it, but she deserved at least that much after what happened.

He did miss it, sometimes. The feeling of electricity pumping through his veins, the rush of the wind past his ears as he outpaced every car in the city, the thrill of victory...

But then he thought about the music coming from below his feet, and he smiled. Some things were worth the sacrifice, he thought with a sip of his wine.

Then came a very familiar thump, one he hadn't heard in years. His heart leaped at the sound--before suddenly sinking. He should not be hearing that sound right now. Something was very, _very_  wrong.

He turned as quickly as he could, but the dark shape was already halfway across the rooftops. At a distance, it looked almost like Chat Noir, but... the cheerful, goofy superhero that Paris had come to love over the past year didn't quite move with such aggression, such viciousness.

Charles hated to admit it, but he recognized the slow, predatory rippling of the muscles in the fleeing man's back, the tight lope as he raced across the rooftops. He knew who that was. And that... was a very big problem.

He pulled out his phone and stared at it for a few moments. What he was about to do... he'd promised to leave that life behind, when Nino was born. Hadn't contacted _him_  since that day. He'd always been prepared to die if that's what it took to save lives, but he couldn't bear to leave his son an orphan. But if he didn't do this... Ladybug and Chat Noir were children. On their own, they would most certainly die.

Reluctantly, he dialed the number. His fingers barely even hesitated over the keypad--they'd been itching to do this for sixteen years. Muscle memory was a hell of a thing.

The phone rang twice before it clicked, and his ear was filled with a deep, familiar, cold, and yet somehow  _comforting_  voice. "Hello?"

"Gabriel?" he said. "It's Charles."

***

“What’s the emergency, Chat?” Ladybug said, alighting on the roof. He’d called her away in the middle of dinner, and she’d been hard-pressed to make a good enough excuse to get away. Still, if her Kitty needed her, she would be there in a second.

Except… something was wrong. This wasn’t her Kitty.

He turned, and she could see it. He was dressed exactly like Chat Noir, but he was just slightly too tall, too lanky, his hair too long. And… instead of Chat’s playful grin… the imposter wore something quite a bit more savage.

She took a step back. “You’re not Chat Noir,” she said.

He sneered. “And you’re not Ladybug.”

“What?” She reached up to check if her earrings were still there. “What are you talking about?”

The Chat imposter laughed. It wasn’t like Chat’s quiet, teasing laugh–no, this was cruel, icy. “Master Fu should never have taken her Miraculous away,” he said, stalking toward her. “Should never have given it to a CHILD.”

Ladybug unhooked the yo-yo from her hip, preparing to swing it at the leather-clad man in front of her. “Back off,” she said. “You don’t want to mess with me.”

“Oh, I think I do,” he said. “I’m getting My Lady’s earrings back, one way or another.” Darkness flared behind his eyes, and he leaped forward, claws outstretched–

Only to be smacked in the face by a silver baton.

Chat--HER Chat, the real Chat--dropped into view in front of the imposter. “Hey, Theo,” he said with a grin. “Thought we settled this little catfight already?”

The imposter picked himself up, shaking his shaggy hair as he tried to clear his head. “I’m no Copycat,” he snarled. “And one of these kitties is about to be declawed.”

Ladybug prepared to fight, but Chat--Chat froze as soon as he heard the imposter speak.

“Uncle Felix?” he said, his voice weak.


	3. Generation Gap

The imposter Chat was FAST. Faster than anyone they'd fought so far--faster, even, than Timebreaker had been. And that was saying a great deal.

More than that, he was skilled. While the real Chat preferred to use his baton like a sword, the imposter wielded his like a quarterstaff, utilizing both ends to devastating effect. Each motion was efficient, brutal, and utterly effective.

Chat lunged at the imposter from one side, while Ladybug attempted to yo-yo the imposter's baton away. She wrapped the string around his baton, only to realize that he'd allowed her to do so when he swung her at her parter, somehow knocking his baton away with one end of the staff while flinging her at him with the other. Both members of Team Miraculous were fighting as hard as they could, but the imposter was steadily driving them back, step by step.

It didn't help that shingles kept giving way under Chat's feet, or that every yo-yo throw was fumbled just a bit. They were having the worst luck tonight, and something told Ladybug that it wasn't natural misfortune.

"Give me back those EARRINGS!" the imposter roared, leaping at Ladybug. She ducked, slipping under his outstretched claws and throwing him to the roof, only to see him roll onto his knees and launch himself back at her.

There were a few things about this fight that kept nagging at her mind. One was that Copycat had gone after Chat before coming for her, since he'd wanted the original out of the way--while _this_ Chat seemed single-mindedly obsessed with _her_. The second thing that caught her attention was that he wasn't just telling her to give him her Miraculous: he was telling her to give it BACK. Like he'd owned it before.

Had Hawkmoth finally found the perfect pawn? Who WAS this person?

The real Chat leaped at the imposter with a snarl, but the imposter caught him by the throat. "Admirable," he said. "A true Cat defends his Lady." He tossed Chat Noir aside with an offhand throw. "But I held the Black Cat Miraculous for YEARS before it fell into your hands. You have no idea what it can do."

Ladybug prepared to swing her yo-yo, but the imposter was too fast.

"Cataclysm!" he yelled, his hand glowing with black fire the way Chat's did when he called on the same power. The imposter slammed his hand into the ground...

And the entire building cracked beneath their feet.

Brown rot ran across the roof faster than it ever had with Chat's power. Ladybug somersaulted out of the way, desperately throwing herself onto the next building over as the rooftop they had been standing on began to collapse into rubble. She took a second to confirm that Chat had gotten clear before refocusing her attention on the imposter.

That second cost her dearly.

A rock took her to the temple, knocking her backwards. She stumbled, her foot meeting nothing but empty air, and she fell backwards, careening into space.

She landed on the ground with a roll.

A piece of rubble landed somewhat less gracefully on her outstretched leg.

She felt the bone crack and separate, though, oddly, there didn't seem to be any pain. She collapsed to the ground, staring up at the dust in the starlit sky.

Distantly, she heard someone scream her name. It sounded like Adrien, a bit. That was nice.

The imposter stood over her. "Hmph. Children," he said. "You don't deserve her power."

He reached towards her face, presumably to take her earrings. She tried to stop him, but her arms weren't moving right, weak, easily pushed aside.

Suddenly everything was blue, and her leg was...

She SCREAMED. A thousand knives stabbed into her ankle all at once, and she could feel it FLOPPING.

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, I had to get you out of there," said a familiar voice. Was that... Nino's... dad?

She opened eyes that she hadn't realized she'd closed to see a face that she had known since she was young, except it looked odd, like all the colors were reversed. His hair was completely white and plastered to his scalp; his face was a dark blue, almost black, with electric blue lines pulsing up and down his limbs. "Mr. Lahiffe?" she whimpered.

He jerked, visibly confused. "How did you..." He shook his head. "Never mind. I need to grab your partner." He placed her gently on the ground, propping her against the wall. "Be right back," he said, with a salute. He disappeared in a flash of white lightning and a gust of wind, then reappeared with Chat Noir in his hands. "Not as fast as I used to be. Forgot what that felt like."

Chat leaped out of his hands, landing with his knees bent and baton held in front of him. "Who _are_  you?"

"The name's Mercury, kid," Lahiffe said. "I worked with your predecessor."

Chat looked sideways at Ladybug, then back to Mercury. "Predecessor?" he said. "You mean that Cat-hole who's trying to kill my Bugaboo?"

Mercury licked his lips and stared at his feet. "Yeah, him." He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. "He's never been like this before."

"Well, he's like it _now_!" Chat shouted. "How do we stop him?"

Ladybug grabbed Chat's hand. "Chat," she said. "He's a friend."

Chat glanced at her. "You know this guy?"

Ladybug glanced at Mercury, then nodded to Chat. "He saved my life."

Mercury sparked forward, squeezing Chat's shoulder. "You get her out of here, I'll make it so the other Chat won't be able to follow."

"But... but..."

"Chat!" Ladybug said. "My leg is BROKEN, and you are clearly outclassed." She gripped his wrist. "Mercury's right. We need to retreat."

Chat looked at him. "Can you take him?"

Mercury shook his head. "Absolutely not. But I can definitely keep him distracted long enough for you two to get away."

Chat narrowed his eyes.

Ladybug tugged on Chat's shoulder. "It's the only option we have until I can prepare a Miraculous Cure," she said. "We need some distance before we can bring the fight back to him." She cocked her head and turned to Mercury. "You know what to do with Akuma?"

Mercury shook his head. "He's not an Akuma," he said. "I am. What he is... is something much, much worse."

He was gone before Ladybug had a chance to ask him what he meant.


	4. Quantic Reunion

"So," Mercury said, standing in front of Black Cat with his arms crossed. "You made a deal."

"Oh, don't act so high and mighty, Lahiffe," Black Cat said. "You'd have done the same if something had happened to your precious Nino."

"And you'd have stopped me," Mercury said, slowly, imperceptibly walking a circle around his former teammate.

"No." Black Cat shook his head with a grimace. "SHE'd have stopped you." His claws twitched. "You owe her, you know. She's why you got out. And you ABANDONED HER!" He leaped forward with a scream, his claws outstretched, but Mercury was already standing behind him in a flash of blue electricity.

"Come off it, Fe," he said. "You're nowhere near fast enough to touch me."

Felix turned, an animalistic grin stretched across his face. "But you know that if you try to take a step towards me, the ground will crumble beneath your feet before you've even moved a centimeter."

Mercury grimaced. "Yeah," he said. "I guess we're at an impasse, aren't we?" He smiled.

"You'd think that, but no."

Mercury quirkier an eyebrow. Felix Agreste had always been the most skilled of the Quantic team, and though he spoke a great deal under the mask, not one of those words was ever wasted. "What?" he said. Black Cat was about to do something... VERY dangerous. Mercury just couldn't tell what.

A slasher grin appeared on the cat's face. "Your mistake," he said, "was thinking that Skarra is the only one in here with me."

He reared his head back and ROARED. And Mercury was already moving.

A wave of red plasma erupted from the Black Cat in a storm of scarlet lightning. Everywhere it touched, the street burst into the familiar onyx flames of the cataclysm, rot and decay spreading across the stones and the concrete, trashcans melting and light poles turning to rust. The Cat stood, huffing, triumphant, in the center of a circle of destruction twenty feet wide. A matted wave of fur the color of magma rose upon his shoulders like the mane of some demonic lion, sparking with the occasional bolts of red electricity.

Mercury gaped at the sight before him. "You didn't."

"They're going to help me get them back, Charles," the Lion said, slinking forward. His eyes had turned from their previous emerald green to a smoky red, black sclera making the edges of his eyes indistinguishable from the mask. "I'm going to fix her. And then I'm going to take my revenge on that WRETCHED MAN who DARES call himself a GUARDIAN!"

***

"Chat, we have to stop!" Ladybug said as Chat raced down the street, carrying her in his arms like a new bride. "We can't just leave Mercury alone back there!"

"He's giving us time to escape," Chat said. "We can't beat the other me like this, not when your leg is broken!"

Ladybug flung her yoyo out and anchored it around a streetlight, jerking both of them to halt. She felt her bone move in her leg, cutting pain and an uncomfortable _squish_ , but she gritted her teeth. "There's still something we can do," she said, glaring into her partner's eyes. "And I am not going to leave until I do it!"

Chat stared back into her eyes, pleading, desperate. "My Lady..." he mewled. "I have to keep you safe."

She scratched her fingers under his chin. "And I have to keep Paris safe, _Mon Chaton,_ " she said. "Please. Trust me just this one more time."

He sighed. "I can't say no to you," he said. "Okay. What's the plan?"

She smiled. "This, of course." She flung her yoyo into the air. "Lucky Charm!"

***

Mercury was barely outpacing each blast of volcanic lightning that sprang from Black Lion's claws. He was fast, sure, but Félix had better reflexes--and more than that, he knew how Charles moved. Each bolt struck just a little closer to home, each one searing off just a little bit more of Mercury's flesh as they inched ever nearer to his skin.

He ducked behind a piece of debris to catch his breath. "Gabe, please tell me you have an idea," he said.

 _I'm sending another butterfly your way_ , Hawkmoth replied. _I don't know if it'll get there fast enough. You may have to manage on your own for a few minutes._

The wall crumbled behind him, but Mercury was already on the move. "I don't think I have that long," he murmured.

Then the lightning stopped. Mercury couldn't be sure if the Lion was spent, or if he'd just gotten patient, but the crackling sound of rage and decay had simply ceased.

Tentatively, Mercury peeked his head around he corner behind which he was hiding, and saw something impossible.

There she was. Ladybug. Not the new one, not the one that all of Paris had come to know, but _his_ Ladybug, _their_ Ladybug, the leader of the Quantic Kids, walking towards the Black Lion with her hand outstretched. She looked as young as she ever had, nothing like the gibbering wreck he'd seen last time he'd visited her at the hospital.

"I'm here, Kitty," she said. "It's okay. I'm all right."

The Lion was brought up short. "My... My Lady?" he stammered.

She laughed. "Yes, Kitty," she said. "It's me. I'm here."

It took Mercury a moment to realize what was wrong with the picture he was seeing. The hair, the face, were perfect, but her voice... it wasn't quite right. Neither was her posture. And the way she was walking...

His eyes zeroed in on Chat's baton, tied around her leg like a splint, and he understood. God DAMN it, how could she be so reckless?

Wait. If she was here, then where was...?

Chat Noir fell from above, pouncing onto the Lion and wrestling him to the ground. In a _second_ , Ladybug's yoyo was out, the string wrapped around both boys, binding them together.

They weren't prepared to fight this, Mercury knew, so as soon as the Lion was immobilized, he made his move. He raced forward at the speed of thought, snatching Ladybug's yoyo and opening it, then jammed it into the Lion's face, blasting its purifying light into his eyes.

The Lion coughed, and then red smoke poured out of his mouth. His entire body glowed, the suit disappearing, replaced with the normal well-tailored shirt and vest of Félix Agreste.

The three of them stood, huffing, staring down at the unconscious Agreste. Ladybug reached up and tore the wig from her head, dropping it to the ground.

 _Their guard is down_ , Hawkmoth's voice said into his mind. _You could take their Miraculous right now--_

Mercury reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of his family, one that was glowing with an unearthly light. "Piss off, Gabe," he said, tearing it in half.

The exhilaration of lightning was gone from his body before he even saw the butterfly leave the photograph.


	5. My Sibling’s Keeper

A scant two miles away, Gabriel Agreste entered his home office tired. He hated using his powers this late, but Charles had been right: his brother would have killed the children in his rage, and—well, a monster Hawkmoth may have been, but he made sure to never do any damage that couldn’t be reversed.

He stopped short when he saw a very familiar head of blonde hair sitting in the chair across from his desk.

 _Impossible_ , his mind told him, as his heart dropped into the position that had been vacated by his stomach, which had chosen that moment to leap into his throat. She _couldn’t_ be here. Despite everything Gabriel had worked for, there was no possible way—

Then the headache, when he remembered how much Emelie had looked like her sister.

”Hello, Allegra,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose and waiting for the pounding of his pulse to die down. “What brings you to my house this late at night?”

”Something we couldn’t speak about in daylight,” Allegra replied without turning. “Are you going to sit?”

Gabriel sighed and stalked towards his desk, dropping into his chair with a huff and steepling his fingers as he met his sister-in-law’s eyes for the first time in three years. “What do you want?” he growled.

She grimaced back. “That dog on the news,” she said. “That wasn’t an Akuma.” She said it matter-of-factly—not a question. Almost an accusation.

”No,” Gabriel replied, glancing down at the notes he’d made over the last few days. Notes he should not have left on his desk—except Charles had called while he was working on them, and he’d had to intervene before he could hide them. “That was the Grim.”

Allegra should have collapsed into her chair. After all they’d been through, Gabriel had nearly had a heart attack when he saw it, when he realized his wife’s sacrifice had been pointless. But instead, Allegra smiled. “So the Yokai are free, then,” she whispered.

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “You are about to do something VERY dangerous, Sister.”

”I’m not your sister,” Allegra said, a menacing glint in her eye. “I’m _hers_.”

”And she is MY WIFE!” Gabriel shouted, leaping to his feet and slamming his palms against his desk. “I will not bring her back to see Paris in flames!”

Allegra smirked. “And what you’re doing is so much better?”

Gabriel waved his fingers. “Ladybug cleans up—”

”And when you win?” Allegra interrupted. “When she can’t fix your messes? Bridgette can’t use the Cure from the Centre D'accueil Et De Crise, you know, and _you_ can’t use it at all.” She grimaced. “We can beat them again. Properly this time.”

“If you think I’m giving you power again—”

Allegra shook her head. “You think I need it? All we have to do is wait for the seal to break, and Emelie will come back.”

He stared at you. “What happened to you?”

She sighed. ”The same thing that happened to all of us,” she said. “War.” She put a finger to her chin. “You know, sometimes I think Charles made the right decision, getting out when he did.”

”Undoubtedly,” Gabriel replied. He didn’t mention that Charles had called him tonight. He didn’t mention Félix. Allegra seemed unhinged enough _without_  tonight’s events giving her ideas.

Then again, Gabriel was hardly sane himself, was he? Maybe this was what war did to them, did to the children who fought it. Maybe none of them had escaped unscathed.

”Emelie _is_ coming back, Allegra,” he said. “I swear it.” He sat and massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers. “But when she does, I’m going to make certain that I’m the only one who has to die for it.”

* * *

The Miraculous Cure fixed everything, as it always did. Ladybug felt her leg snap back into place with a sharp shock of pain before it was washed away in the euphoric rush of pink wings.

The broken streets and the collapsed buildings righted themselves, shattered bricks melded together again in a way no human industry could ever rival. The black fires guttered out and vanished, the red lightning whipped away in a gust of fairy-pink wind. And then it was just an average Paris boulevard, save the four people in the middle of it: Ladybug, Chat Noir, Charles Lahiffe, and... an unconscious blond man she vaguely recognized, though she couldn’t for the life of her remember where it was from.

She held up a fist for Chat to bump, but he’d already wrapped his arms around her, sobbing into her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

”I’m fine, Chat,” she laughed. “I’m—”

”Amazing,” Lahiffe said. “You look just like her.”

Her head snapped around to stare at him, and she was suddenly reminded of all of the strangeness that had occurred tonight. “Monsieur Lahiffe,” she said, “I think you have some questions to answer.”

”Of course,” he replied. “But... tomorrow.” He gestured at her earrings. “You’re out of transformation time, and I’m not explaining this twice.”

True to Lahiffe’s words, Ladybug heard the telltale beep from her earrings that signaled that she had one minute remaining on her transformation. Her hands flew up to her earlobes, and she glanced at Nino’s father. “Tomorrow,” she said. “Your rooftop.”

She hugged Chat again. “Take care of yourself, Kitty,” she whispered, then threw her yo-yo and whipped off into the night.

* * *

Three miles away, at the Centre D'accueil Et De Crise, Bridgette Cheng sat up and gasped. “Kitty?” she said, staring out the window.

Behind her, the shadows moved.

* * *

In his bedroom atop the Agreste mansion, Gabriel Agreste stood ramrod straight, staring at the open locket in his hand. A photograph of a blonde woman with a pointed chin.

“The Lion is loose,” he said. “And so is the Toad.”

There was no answer from the photograph, but then, there never was.

”Oh my darling Emelie,” he murmured. “What have you done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally planning to make the villains the ACTUAL Akuma and include the revelation that Hawkmoth’s butterflies are called something else, but then I decided that would be too confusing. So instead, you get Yokai. Enjoy!
> 
> Also, Allegra was named for the same character from Edorazzi’s blog, found here: http://edorazzi.tumblr.com/


	6. And Answers Leave More Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let this be proof that I NEVER abandon a fic. Eight months hiatus, I banish you to the netherworld!

The note had been in his locker the next morning, though nothing else had moved. It hadn’t been dropped through the slats, either; it was laid flat, face-up, in the exact center of his locker.

 _Meet me for lunch at my place,_ it said. It was signed,  _Marinette._

Adrien found himself unnerved by the fact that she seemed to know his locker combination. While they’d been growing closer over recent months, there was still a lot about Marinette that she kept close to her chest, still a lot of things he didn’t know about her. How had she gotten into his locker? And what was the note for?

If this was a prank, it was certainly a strange one. And if it was something else...

He didn’t want to think about that.

He pushed through the bakery door and waved to the giant behind the counter. “Hi, Monsieur Dupain.”

The baker grinned through his mustache. “My boy!” he said. “We weren’t expecting you today.”

Marinette’s mother poked her head through the kitchen door. “Is that Adrien?” she said. “Oh, how lovely! I’ll make you something with chocolate in it.”

”That’s... not necessary, Madame Cheng,” Adrien said. “But thank you?”

”Nonsense!” she responded, disappearing into the back, her voice growing fainter through the door. “A growing boy has to eat!”

Tom shook his head. “The amount I’ve seen you scarf down, it’s a wonder they feed you in that house at all.” He leaned his elbow against the counter and braced his chin against his hand. “So, what brings you to this humble bakery? Here to see the little lady?”

”Yeah actually,” Adrien said, gesturing at his backpack. “She left a note in my locker.”

Tom’s eyes grew wide as his smile turned mischievous. “ _Did_ she, now.” He straightened and grabbed a pair of tongs, placing croissants beneath glass the counter. “She’ll be delighted to see you. Head on up!”

Adrien ducked his head in a sort of half-nod of acknowledgement. “Thanks, Monsieur Dupain,” he said, heading toward the stairs.

With each step, his heartbeat grew louder, faster, harder. Why had she left that note? What was this about?

He opened her door slowly, carefully, quietly, trying not to betray his anxiety.

“I know you’re there.”

Adrien _shrieked_ , tripping over his own feet and almost landing face-first on Marinette’s hardwood floor—but instead, found himself supported by a pair of strong yet tiny hands.

”Ohmygosh I’m so sorry!” Marinette yelped. “I’m sorry I’m freaking out a little and I just trying to are you okay?”

Her hands were _very_ strong. “Ffffine,” he said. “Gonna stay here for a minute.”

Neither one of them moved. Adrien could feel her staring at the back of his neck, and the temperature in the room seemed to rise a few degrees out of pure awkward.

”Adrien,” she said, finally. “You’re hurting my arms.”

”Crap!” he yelped, yanking himself out of them and dropping to the floor. He craned his neck upward, and froze when he came face-to-face with the softest gaze of endless sapphire blue.

”Um,” he said. The rest of the words were missing.

”Uh,” Marinette replied, apparently as lost for words as he was.

Adrien jolted to his feet. “Right!” he yelped. “Um, uh, letter! In locker!” He yanked the letter from his pocket, presenting it to her as if she hadn’t written it in the first place.

Marinette stared at it in much the same manner, her eyes growing so wide that he was afraid they were going to pop out of her face. “Right, the letter,” she breathed.

She looked at him, met his eyes, took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “Okay okay okay.” She ran her hand through her hair, glancing away from him. “Something happened last night, something really scary, and I just... I need to know some things, okay?” She swallowed. “I promise I’ll explain everything in a minute.”

”Um...” This... whatever this was, it was sounding scarier and scarier. Few things put Marinette on edge like this. He was torn between the desire to help, and the desire to bolt before getting drawn into something that he really shouldn’t be a part of.

”Please, Adrien.”

Help it was. “What do you need?”

Marinette collapsed into her computer chair in relief. “Okay,” she said. “Do you have any brothers or cousins I don’t know about?”

Adrien sat on the chaise, confused, but he left his confusion unvoiced—she’d promised she’d explain. “No,” he said. “Only child, and no cousins.”

Marinette swallowed, nodded. Reached for her mouse and jiggled it. “And is this your uncle?”

Félix Agrete’s face appeared on her screen, under the headline, **RECLUSIVE BROTHER OF FAMOUS DESIGNER ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER AKUMA ATTACK.**

“Yes,” Adrien said.

Marinette practically froze mid-breath.

They stared at each other, both terrified. “Mari?” Adrien said. “Are you okay?”

Marinette blinked, the long blink of someone returning to reality after a big shock. ”How did I never see it before?” she whispered. “All this time you’ve been sitting right in front of my face.”

”See wha—” Adrien began, but was interrupted by her leaning forward to... ruffle his hair?

She leaned back, sizing him up. “ _Dieu_ , we’re both idiots,” she said. “You’re Chat Noir.”

Every single one of Adrien’s body processes stopped at once—his heart ceased to beat, his lungs failed to breathe, his stomach halted its roiling, his eyes didn’t blink. Even his brain stopped, save the rising thought of _no_ _no_ _no_ _nononoNONONO_! “What?” he yelped. “No, I’m not—that’s—where did you get—”

Marinette trapped his cheeks between her hands. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Please, Adrien,” she breathed. “I—I’m scared, and Tikki won’t tell me anything, and I don’t know what’s going on, and I can’t do this without my partner—”

”Tikki?” Adrien said. His stomach collapsed inward. “Marinette, are you...?”

She nodded. “Hi, _Minou_.”

* * *

They’d both managed not to scream, but it was a very narrow thing. Marinette had barely been able to push through the planned conversation as Ladybug before her brain finally kicked in and reminded her this was _Adrien_ , this was the boy who was so perfect she could never even talk to him, and he was her partner, and somehow that made it worse instead of better? Because she loved Chat, and she wanted Adrien, and all that energy was smashing together like a faultine into a suffocating mass of _needwantCRAVE_.

Adrien, for his part, seemed to have been struck dumb by the revelation of her identity, the knowledge that they’d been so _close_ for a _year_ and never even known it. He was staring at her, his hair in Chat’s customary mess, but despite finally looking like his other half he was utterly speechless.

”You weren’t supposed to say anything” Tikki growled from inside Marinette’s bag.

 “That made sense when it was just Hawkmoth they were dealing with,” a muffled voice replied from inside Adrien’s shirt. “Get off your high horse, Sugarcube. They need this.”

Adrien and Marinette locked eyes. “ _Sugarcube_?” they said in unison.

Tikki groaned. “They’re not ready, Plagg!”

A tiny black shape zipped out from Adrien’s chest. “Well then we need to GET them ready, before they end up DEAD!”

Adrien boggled. “Plagg?”

”We’re weapons, kid,” the tiny cat said. “You don’t make weapons unless you’re planning to fight a war.”

”Like... against Hawkmoth?” Marinette said.

Plagg sighed. “No,” he said. “The Miraculi were never supposed to be used against each other.” He drifted off to stare out the window. “I’m sorry, Kid,” he said, without turning his head. “I really am.”

* * *

”So what now?” Adrien said as he walked Marinette back to class.

“N-Now?” Marinette said. Trying not to think about the fact that this was Adrien, not just Chat, walking alongside her, trusting her, following her lead. Bad answers whirled through her head— _kiss until we can’t breathe, go to the movies, find a hamster to adopt—_ but she managed to focus, barely. “Uhm, tonight. We meet up near Nino’s place.”

Adrien looked askance at her. “Why Nino’s?”

”Mercury’s his dad,” Marinette said, pushing through the door to the classroom. “And he promised us answers.”

Answers neither Kwami had been willing to provide—Plagg had gotten lost in old memories, muttering about his previous wielders, while Tikki had burrowed herself into Marinette’s bag and refused to say anything. Marinette May have only been fourteen, but she’s knew enough about human behavior to recognize trauma when she saw it. Whatever this was, it had scarred the Kwami. Badly.

”He’s _what_?” Adrien said, following her into the empty classroom. “No wonder you recognized him last night.”

”I almost didn’t,” Marinette said. “If I’d seen his face before I’d heard his voice—”

It was that moment that Kim walked through the door, and both Adrien and Marinette fell silent. They looked at each other and nodded: they didn’t need to speak to communicate. _Tonight_ , they agreed.

Marinette daydreamed her way through class, imagining—hoping for, maybe—a much less professional patrol tonight.


End file.
